Do It Yourself Children's Halloween Costumes
Use Household Items and Odds and Ends to Make Free Homemade Costumes
Sep 6, 2009
According to Halloween Facts from the U.S. Census by Robert Longley, potentially 36.4 million children will don costumes on October 31st in the quest for tricks and treats. Online and department store vendors offer a variety of children’s costumes with the average price hovering around $50.00. With a little ingenuity, a few borrowed items, and accessories found around the home, transforming ordinary kids into memorable trick-or-treating characters is easy and affordable.
Gather Costume Materials
Think outside the box when searching for materials and accessories to complete Halloween ensembles. Children love to be a part of the process and can help with scavenging for items and easy tasks like cutting and gluing costume pieces together. Borrow belts, robes, light sabers, swords, and wands from family, friends, and neighbors. A neighbor who sews is an invaluable resource for material scraps. Hunt for bobby pins, shoe laces, clips, binder clips, self adhesive jewels and cardboard.
Plan ahead for the next year and gather items yearlong in a box for dress up and costumes. Collect material pieces, felt, old clothes, buttons, belts, purses, jewelry, drive-thru meal toys and gadgets, and other items that might be used to create or embellish a costume.
Three Easy to Make Costumes
- Football Star – Locate a football jersey and layer over a co-ordinating plain t-shirt (layer with a plain turtle neck for cold climates). Use solid colored legging type pajama bottoms or girls leggings for pants. Use a marker to stripe tops of long white socks with a co-ordinating color and pull over pants. Use rolled socks and secure under t-shirt for shoulder pads. Add squares of eyeliner or washable marker under eyes for glare blocker. Use a helmet for treat bag.
- Happy Camper – Assemble plaid shirt, hiking jacket, khaki pants or shorts, boonie hat, bandana, socks, hiking boots. Dress as a hiker. For the mask, gather yellow construction paper, cardboard, craft stick, stick, or dowel, black sharpie, tape and glue. Trace a large circle about the size of a dinner plate on yellow construction paper and cardboard. Cut out circles. Glue construction paper to cardboard and allow to dry. With a sharpie, draw a '70s style smiley face. Affix stick to back side with tape. Accessorize with a marshmallow on a stick, binoculars, and canteen. Use a backpack for treat bag.
- Scarecrow – Assemble long sleeve shirt and pants that are too short, hiking boots, bandana, straw hat or other hat, yellow fabric enough to line the rim of hat, sleeves, and pant legs plus a few strips and a few patches or squares of fabric. Glue or sew patches onto elbows, knees, and seat of pants. Use yellow strips of cloth to make hay stuffing and glue or sew around inside of shirt and pant cuffs. Use a few strips and secure to shirt placket on chest. For hat, measure enough material to fit around inside rim and make fringe cuts 1/2 to two inches apart. Line rim of hat with yellow material allowing the material to fall 4” or 5” below the rim and secure into place. Make sure bangs do not interfere with sight. Use patterned pillowcase or tote for treat bag.
From trick-or-treating to fall outdoor activities, children love to gussy up for Halloween and claim Oct. 31st as theirs. Costumes do not need to be expensive to capture children’s magical spirit. With some imagination and items found around the home, it is easy to whip up transforming garb for Halloween.
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